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Latest Austin Hollins News

Minnesota propelled itself back into the field of 68 with a decisive win over Iowa at home. The Gopher defense has been much-maligned this season (this is the second-worst defense in the Big Ten), but that doesn’t matter when you shoot 58 percent from 3 and 63 percent on 2s.

There might not be a more entertaining half in the Big Ten this season than the one Iowa and Minnesota put on in the first 20 minutes Tuesday. The halftime score: 51-47, Minnesota. The team’s field goal percentages: Iowa (50 percent); Minnesota (67 percent, including 75 percent from distance). The stars: Devyn Marble (19 points on 7-11 FGs); Austin Hollins (18 points on 8-8 FGs). Watch the guards match each other shot for shot.

Any time Minnesota plays, there’s a pretty good chance Austin Hollins will throw down an impressive dunk. Hollins added to his long highlight reel in the first half of Wednesday night’s game vs. Illinois. Watch Hollins soar for his latest trademark right-handed powerful flush in this post.

The NBA recently announced six contestants who will be competing in the 2014 Slam Dunk contest during NBA All Star weekend. That got us thinking about if the Big Ten had a dunk contest. Who are some of the top dunkers in the Big Ten this year? Here is a breakdown of the six Big Ten players I would want to see in a dunk contest.

The weekend is officially here. So that means it’s time for my weekly survey of seven Big Ten hoops writers. This week’s question: Who is the Big Ten’s most underrated player? Check out the responses. No consensus, but some interesting responses.

There are certain dunks that simply make you say “wow”, and then there is the type of dunk that Austin Hollins had in the second half of Wednesday night’s win over Wisconsin. Minnesota’s senior guard drove to the basket and exploded for a huge one-handed slam over Wisconsin freshman Nigel Hayes. Even better, Hollins was fouled on the slam. Watch it in this post.

Austin Hollins had a pair of slams on BTN.com’s top 10 nonconference dunks. The Minnesota senior exploded for another impressive flush in Sunday’s home game vs. Purdue. This time, Hollins used a shot fake from beyond the 3-point line to get to the basket for a powerful right-handed throw-down. Watch the dunk in this post.

The conference hoops season tips off New Year’s Eve. I hope you’re excited, too! Before the games really start to count, here are 14 (random) thoughts I have entering 2014. For the record, no, these thoughts are in no particular order.

The Big Ten office announced its weekly Big Ten men’s basketball honors Monday. Minnesota’s Austin Hollins claimed Player of the Week, while Purdue’s Bryson Scott took Freshman of the Week. See what both players did to earn the honors in this post.

Say, does Rodney Williams still suit up for Minnesota? Nope. Austin Hollins was the high-flyer who soared for the Williams-esque one-handed alley-oop vs. New Orleans on Saturday. Boy, can he fly. Hollins has shown his ups all year, but he hasn’t had a better finish than this jam. Watch it in this post.

Indiana reclaimed the top spot in the polls after it held off Michigan in Bloomington. The Hoosiers lit up the Wolverines’ defense to the tune of 1.17 points per possession, the highest mark allowed so far this season by John Beilein’s team. And the reality it that it could have been much worse, as careless turnovers were about the only thing that slowed down the IU offense.

It seems ludicrous that a Geek would pose such a question concerning the No. 11-ranked team according to Ken Pomeroy, but it’s fair. While the Buckeyes still look good in the computer’s eyes, but the computer’s eyes aren’t going to determine things like whether Ohio State will be invited to the Dance and how it will be seeded. So far on the season, OSU has faced three quality opponents (Duke, Kansas, and Illinois), and they’ve lost them all.

With about 10 seconds remaining, Northwestern had succeeded in holding Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, Ryne Smith, and Lewis Jackson to a combined 17 points. That trio spearheads the Boilermaker offense, which has stalled at times this season when one of those three is having an off night. And in Purdue’s final possession, with the game tied, Northwestern played some of its best defense of the season, forcing Robbie Hummel into a contested mid-range jumper from the baseline.

How do you break a Big Ten losing streak? Last night, the unlikely answer was to take a trip to snowy Indiana. Wisconsin and Minnesota got their seasons back on track with impressive wins in the Hoosier state.